May 2020
/No meeting in May!
Kate and Sharon have put together an exciting lineup of speakers and workshops; however, we have not been able to meet with you to share the excitement. Please check out the upcoming opportunities for yourself!
We are still in a time of uncertainty about how groups will be able to meet in June. For this reason, we do not want anyone to enroll in the workshop just yet. When we get closer to our June meeting and feel confident that we will be able to meet, you will get the go-ahead to register. We will announce this in the June newsletter.
Our speaker for June is Emily Lang and she loves to design quilts. Emily enjoys the challenge of working with intricate piecing on both small and large scale. See her published works in Quilt Now magazine, and follow her quilting adventures on Instagram and on mommysnaptime.blogspot.com.
Emily Lang’s workshop is Improvisational Piecing. At this workshop you will work through a series of steps to allow yourself to find comfort and creativity in improvisational piecing. This workshop includes a copy of her Off The Grid pattern for finishing your work into a quilt or pillow, as well as a list of prompts for future creative improvisational sessions.
Kate Brennan and Sharon Pierluissi, Programs
News from the President
Friends,
I wanted to write something that would be uplifting and inspirational, and decided to use someone else’s words.
An untitled poem by Kitty O’Meara (2020)
And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.
And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.
And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed.
I am so thankful to have friends to call, to visit with over my electronic devices, to read, to sew. I am making masks and sometimes working on quilts. I’ll bet that everyone who reads this letter is doing much the same. Let’s stay the course. We will be so joyous when we can get together again.
Remember, if you are feeling lonely, reach out to a friend. If the friend doesn’t answer, then call me. I love to talk. I have many ideas, many opinions, many answers to questions. Some people call that a “know-it-all”; those who know me, just call me Marti.
Upcoming Board Meeting - I will host a board meeting on Tuesday, May 12, at 7:00 pm. I will use Zoom and will send out invitations to this meeting. Remember that board meetings are open to all the members of our guild. If you would like to join this meeting, please email me and I will respond with an email that includes a link to join.
We will not have a membership meeting in May. Keep your fingers crossed for June.
Stay safe, call a friend, take a walk, and we will see each other soon.
Marti Austin, President
Village of Lake Bluff 125th Anniversary Commemorative Quilt
The Village of Lake Bluff invited the Village Quilters of Lake Bluff/Lake Forest to make a quilt commemorating Lake Bluff’s 125th anniversary. A committee formed. This quilt is the result.
Work began with design meetings in December, planning to present the quilt to the Village in May. That would make the quilt available during all of the Village’s planned anniversary celebrations. The quilt was completed on time. But, given the pervasive presence of the COVID-19, all Village anniversary events are cancelled. The committee anticipates that the Village will schedule a presentation ceremony – perhaps virtual – but there are no details yet.
The quilt, intended to be a wall hanging, is about 4 feet square. It depicts Lake Bluff in all four seasons, showing typical Village activities in each quadrant – spring flowers, summer sailing and parade, fall colors, and winter decorations – as the same oak tree changes its leaves. It features the Lake Bluff gazebo, which is a central feature of Village life and which is depicted in the logos of both the Village and the Guild.
The quilt design process began with discussions about general concepts, shape and size. Kate Klein and Kearstie Grenier sketched the circle of buildings and Kearstie produced the final paper-pieced patterns using photographs and EQ8. Each building represents a specific, historic Lake Bluff building. There is a key showing each photographed building, its paper-pieced representation, and its location on a diagram of the quilt. One copy of the key will hang near the quilt and another will be attached to the back of the quilt.
When it was time to start selecting fabric and sewing, the committee met in Donna Derstadt’s studio. Committee members all shared their fabrics, but Donna generously contributed most of the fabric. The quilt embodies several quilting techniques. The Village buildings are paper-pieced. The flowers are appliquéd. The sky is pieced using an underlayment of graph fabric. The figures and lettering were produced with a stencil process. There is embroidery embellishment depicting grass under the children’s feet and in some other central features. The central circle was assembled in quadrants and then the trees were appliquéd onto the quilt. Many committee members did the paper piecing including Madge Pierce, Alice Hutchinson, Kate, Kearstie, Linda, and Donna. Kearstie appliquéd the flowers. Marti Austin decorated the winter tree with three-dimensional sparkly balls. Donna did the figures and lettering and the borders. Linda Spring did the sky. Kate did the embroidery and the binding. Barb Jolley did the quilting.
This was a true committee effort. Various committee members were out of town during part of the process but the work proceeded. During March, when the final touches were being applied, the quilt was passed from person to person while maintaining social distancing and sheltering in place. Ann Hamlin, representative of the Lake Bluff anniversary committee and Guild member, showed a picture of the completed quilt to the Village and reported that the Village is amazed and very pleased with the finished product. The Village has not yet decided where the quilt will hang.
The entire committee included Ann Hamlin, Carol Swartz, Donna Derstadt, Kate Klein, Kearstie Grenier, Madge Pierce, Marti Austin, Alice Hutchinson, and Linda Spring, chair.
Submitted by Linda Spring
Village Quilters Make a Difference!
The world looks a lot different outside! For many members of the Village Quilters, our sewing rooms look a little different inside, too. As a result of the severe shortage of personal protective equipment and Governor Pritzker’s mask mandate, many members of Village Quilters have set aside their quilts to make homemade cloth masks for healthcare professionals, essential workers, friends, family, and neighbors. Your donation of time and supplies have been invaluable to our communities.
Together with residents of the city of Lake Forest and the Village of Lake Bluff, members of Village Quilters have donated over 500 masks to local organizations. Here are some of the organizations that have benefited from our efforts:
Medical Facilities
Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville – 96 masks
Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago – 16 masks*
Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin – 20 masks
Vista Medical Center in Waukegan – 50 masks*
* Note: Additional masks are available for these organizations but have not yet been distributed.
Nursing Homes/Senior Living Facilities
Balmoral Care Center in Lake Forest – 12 masks
Claridge Healthcare Center in Lake Bluff – 74 masks
The Grove at the Lake in Zion – 44 masks
The Sheridan at Green Oaks in Lake Bluff – 34 masks
Private Practice
Suburban Ear, Nose, and Throat in Arlington Heights – 7 masks
Community Organizations
Fill a Heart 4 Kids in Lake Forest – 96 masks
Heartland Alliance in Chicago – 75 masks
Thank you all for your tireless efforts in protecting our community! You have risen to the challenge and made a huge difference to the individuals continuing to serve us.
Submitted by Jocelyn Galloway
Quilt Shops – Shop Local!
Since Governor Pritzker has loosened some of the restrictions for stores and shops, we can begin to support our local quilt shops again. Many are able to take orders on the phone or from their websites. Check out Facebook or the internet to find out how they are able to serve their customers. Some shop owners are being very creative in how they can fill orders. If you don’t need anything right now, but have a little bit of cash that you can spare, purchase gift cards to use later. The purchase of gift cards would help them right now during this difficult time. We all want the shops to be here as long as we are!
Submitted by Marti Austin
Quilt Show 2021
Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. This time is difficult for all of us but if you are like me, sewing masks and working on a quilt, sure makes the days go by quickly.
Barb Jolley will be my co-chair for our quilt show in October 2021. Thank you, Barb! I wonder what life will be like by then. I am imagining that we may have a large number of quilts again.
I know that seems like a long way off but we are looking at filling our positions on the show committee. Please give some thought as to what you want to do. Some of you who have been chairs in the past, I would love to work with you again. We always welcome new help. No job hasn't been done before, so if you want to step up, there is plenty of help and notes from past shows. You can call or email me to volunteer or ask a question.
Madge Pierce, Quilt Show 2021 co-chair
Birthday Blocks are back!
Our 2020 birthday block is a very simple 8” (finished size) log cabin style tulip which can be set as is or on point. The Village Quilters website has all instructions and details.
Nancy Smith and Edythe Hirasawa
Membership Renewals
Spring is here – and we are looking forward to the time when we can meet again in person. In the meantime, it is time to renew your Village Quilters Membership!
Due to the COVID-19 crisis we are currently experiencing, the membership fee savings of $5.00 has been extended to May 31!
The new membership year begins on May 1, 2020. The membership fee is $50.00 ($25.00 for active military or spouse), but you save $5.00 if you renew by May 31! All renewals require 2 steps:
1.Completing a registration form
Submitting your payment online with a credit card or paying by check
Refer to the April 2020 newsletter for more details.
If you have any questions, please contact Celia Stratman or Kimberly Jurco!
Treasurer’s Report
Balance as of 3/25/2020: $24,237.78
Income: $580.56
Expenses: $491.00
Ending Balance as of 4/27/2020: $24,327.34
Income this month was from Membership fees.
Expenses were for postage and Lake Bluff 125 Celebration quilting.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary Ellin Innes, Treasurer
Membership
Happy May Birthday to the following members!
Marti Austin – 5/13
Kate Brennan – 5/18
Donna Derstadt – 5/10
Tory DiGregorio – 5/03
Joan Lagedrost – 5/13
Donna Lechowicz – 5/22
Claire Machinist – 5/19
Carol Miller – 5/20
Isabel Olsen – 5/01
Amy Parker – 5/27
Sharon Pokropinski – 5/03
Celia Stratman – 5/19
Membership co-chairs Celia Stratman and Kimberly Jurco